Who was Sun Tzu?

“The supreme art of war
is to subdue the enemy without fighting”

Sun Tzu, known as a Chinese military strategist, Taoist philosopher and general in the 6th century BCE, is widely recognized for his work The Art of War, a treatise on military strategy (also known as The Thirteen Chapters).

Whether an individual by the name of ‘Sun-Tzu’ existed has been disputed (in the same way scholars and historians debate the existence of an actual man named Lao-Tzu) but the existence of The Art of War and its profound influence on military campaigns, clearly proves that someone existed to produce said work and that the work is attributed to one Sun-Tzu.

The ideal general is an enlightened Taoist master

During a period in China known as the Age of Warring States, rose a wise and successful general from the state of Qi. To hand down the wisdom he gained from years of battle Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War, a complete philosophy on how to decisively defeat one’s opponent. The masterpiece lays bare a holistic and powerful approach that has long since extended beyond the military and into the world of competitive business.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.